Toronto FC names its new director of high performance

Toronto FC has named Pierre Barrieu the club’s new director of high performance.

The 49-year-old French native most recently held the same job with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

He is the latest in a line of moves between Toronto and Los Angeles, driven in large part by former TFC coach Greg Vanney taking over the Galaxy.

Chris Armas, the new Toronto head coach, used to play for the Galaxy,

Barrieu, former strength and conditioning coach for the U.S. men’s national team, succeeds Jim Liston, who recently left Toronto to become the Galaxy’s director of high performance and innovation.

“Pierre brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our club having worked at the highest levels of the game,” Toronto GM Ali Curtis said in a statement.

“Excited about the positive impact he will have on our team’s overall health, fitness and conditioning.”

Barrieu started his coaching career at the University of Virginia in 1999, as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach.

He joined U.S. Soccer in 2002 as head fitness coach for the national team, Olympic team and U-20 team.

He spent 2007 with the New York Red Bulls before returning to the U.S. national team from 2008 to 2011.

He has also worked for the United Arab Emirates Football Association, England’s Sheffield Wednesday, Norway’s Stabaek Fotball, France’s Le Havre and Wales’ Swansea City.

Barrieu, who joined the Galaxy in 2017, has served as a FIFA high performance expert and instructor since 2014.

He called the move to Toronto “a great opportunity.”

“The organization is known to be one of the very best in MLS and I am looking forward to keep building a winning culture, optimizing the performance structure while taking advantage of the wealth of resources MLSE provide,” he said in a statement.

Former Toronto assistant coaches Dan Calichman, Nick Theslof and Jason Bent have joined Vanney in Los Angeles. Former Galaxy player Ian Russell has joined Armas’ coaching staff in Toronto.